History of Evel Knievel Toys
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- Опубліковано 28 лис 2024
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Damn, just awesome. You've been covering territory in the latest two Histories episodes that I haven't seen anyone else do, and doing them in a way that leaves little room for improvement. I feel your channel going from one amongst the greats, to edging ahead of the rest!
Thank you so much for such a lovely comment PixelPipes!
Great video bringing back lovely memories. My parents bought me the Chopper with the yellow launcher.
Incidentally, the best way to launch the bike is to abruptly stop cranking but don't let go of the handle-just hold it. This causes the wheel gear to throw the bike forward, down the ramp.
Looking at this video, I didn't realise how many other accessories existed.
When you watch the DVD "The Devil At Your Heels" (the Ken Carter story) with the commentary on, you discover that Knievel was a bit of an arsehole in real life.
@@BoilerRoom4 I really wanted one of those original sets as a kid - Still do! But it was sad to discover Knievel attacked someone with a baseball bat! :-/
I had one in the 70s and race bikes dh bmx xc and mx im 58 love all bikes . its hard to explain just how bad ass he was
I had the stunt cycle when I was a kid in the 70's. I would make makeshift ramps and have Evel jump over stacks of books and rows of Tonka trucks. We 70's kids had access to some amazing toys!
We 3 brothers got a lot of use out of our expensive set of Encyclopedias! They always were used to build our jumping ramps for all of our toys. Mom, was heartbroken 😝
The best toy I ever had as a kid. Back when things worked as advertised.
A few that worked as advertised: EK Stunt Cycle, Rock’m Sock’m Robots 🤖, Slinky
Judging from your avatar I thought Rover the weather balloon would be your favorite childhood toy.
@@richardmarch1312 GI Joe with the Kung Fu grip, Big Wheel and of course Cox cars and planes...what a time to be a kid!
Ya no kidding had it also as a kid but if you bought one or had one as a kid and never opened it and kept it prestine what it would be worth today one of my favorite toys as a kid tc stay safe
SST'S were pretty cool and don't forget about the Clackers
This is a fascinating video. Thanks for making it.
You're Welcome!
I had these toys when I was a kid and I enjoyed them, and wish I still had them
Evel and the 6 Mil Man were, by far, my most fondly remembered toys from my 70's childhood. Thanks for doing a great episode on each!
Some of the first toys I can ever remember loving. The amazing thing was that they worked so well.
I love how you gave zero shits about launching him full beans into the closed door! Exactly how he was treated! Awesome vid.
It shows the love is strong when Toy Story 4 homages the Evel Knievel figure and Stunt Cycle set as the (Keanu Reeves voiced) Duke Kaboom. I had the Stunt Cycle, energizer and Evel figure as a kid, and I loved it, and me and my brother had fun devising stunts, including the famous "monster jump" (ramps either side of either our childhood cat Poppy, or our dog Reggie) don't worry, Evel made these jumps and didn't hurt either pet! Such fond memories, thanks for the video! My Evel met a sad end when we decided to do a "Mountain jump" (from the top of the stairs to the hall) and he flew off the bike, which then crashed into the hall table, at which point the front wheel assembly snapped off!
Iconic is right. Anyone who was there at the time remembers Evel and his white star-spangled jump suit!
Fantastic Tony! Evel was one of my childhood heroes. Like most heroes he was flawed and complicated. I have a Stunt Cycle and winder and Scramble Van. Great memories.
"Evel triumphs again!"
Brilliant. Keep up the great work Tony.
Grew up in the 70s and I spent hours playing with this toy. Crazy but dust flew out of my ears just now watching this video. The toy commercial's theme music jogged memories of the tune!! Can't believe my mind still stored a part of this ad song. LOL.
I had the stunt cycle when I was a kid. One of the most fun toys ever. A couple years later, a neighbor came to our house dressed as Santa and brought me the chopper. Good times, the 70s. I actually have a Christmas photo from 74ish, with G. I. Joe Safari Jeep set, Evel's chopper, a Big Jim "The Whip" and random other things. I was all in on action figures back then.
Cool that you actualy play with it! :))
As a kid i had a friend because he had "Cracy Racers" from clipper.
A US Stationwagon and a VW Bug with two ramps, powered by flywheel. You've had to hit each other in mid air, the cars were made to loose al parts, like doors, wheels, bumpers, hoods.
Couple of years ago i found a boxed set.
I was so happy when i found that set. Another childhood dream fullfilled. :))
I love those vintage toys. :))
So many great memories
I had the winding bike stunt cycle i loved that guy as a kid miss those days
The sound of the energiser from my stunt cycle is the one noise from my childhood that sticks with me to this day. I reckon he jumped a ramp sucessfully maybe 1 time out of a 100 and slammed into a wall or door the other 99. Good times! :)
Hey loved mine, I was not work a crap at the jumps either. I wonder how many takes it took for the commercial😁
The stupid jumps I made when I was young ,I am lucky to be alive. God bless Evel Knievel! Thanks for posting my childhood passion and my hero!
Excellent video. I was born in 73 but my older brother made sure I knew about Evel and had a later version stunt cycle.
"Utterly legendary"
Nicely put . Couldn't have said it better myself. Evel Knievel was a household name. Wrecked many bikes in his honor.
4:10 we were suckers for those kind of commercials. Also bought ricochet racers and crashem up derby with similar commercials.
My best friend got one I got a cowboy and Indian train set and a womble colouring book bummer great video great memories
I was born in'67 and the Evel Knievel stunt cycle was my favourite toy as a kid. Along with my yellow G.I. Joe helicopter from the AT line. The only problem with the stunt cycle was the crappy plastic they used to make the drive gear on the cycle with. The drive gear used a hard but brittle plastic. After a while the teeth on the gear would start to break off. Before you knew it entire sections of the drive gear would have no teeth. Evel's last ride was off the roof of my parents garage. If only they had used an aluminum gear instead of plastic.
Excellent video - very well done!
Thank you for another wonderfully informative video!
As a product of the era, I can easily attest that the Stunt Cycle was one of the greatest toys of all time and certainly my favorite. My parents weren't rich but well off and they gave me some awesome toys! I had the Scramble Van, the Chopper, the Dragster, and a couple Stunt Cycles. The Dragster kinda lost it's appeal fairly quickly and although I loved the Chopper, it wasn't nearly as fast and the front springs didn't last long.
Watching those commercials reminded me the most important thing in a child's development.....imagination. Sadly, imagination isn't encouraged or even needed with kids today as everything is already done for them in our movies and video games (not to mention some really goof-ball parents).
Last point is Kenner's SSP "rip cord" cars and Smash up Derby set.....another excellent line of toys from the same era. Between the SSP's and Knievel toys, even some great action figures stayed in a box....they were that good.
Thanks again for the memories!
What a great program about Evel Knievel. Thank you.
Born 1965; loved and worshipped Evel Knievel.
At the age of 10 In 1975, I was attacked by a man who flew into a rage and nearly killed me.
The physical trauma from the attack and the psychological impact caused near lifelong debilitating obsessive compulsive disorder.
While still very young and trying to recover from the attack, I played with my Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle Action set for countless hours, which helped me greatly cope with the anxiety.
My UA-cam profile image seen just above is a young Evel Knievel.
Thank you so much Your videos bring me back to the days when life was free easy and fun when I just a little kid playing with my toys
Glad I grow up in 70s...magic stuff...
Lots of memories with this one. My brother and me shared a single Evel Knievel toy but the excitement it provided was big enough for the both of us AND our friends who came over to see the elaborate Stunt Shows we put together for him to go through. Great video, Sr. The BEST coverage of this toy ever made.
Love those old commercials 👍 I have the chopper and Evel in his white suit. Another great video with loads of information 👍🙂
Thank you
When toys were made to last I loved my Eveil Kanevil toys and honestly put them up there with the star wars line fantastic.
My favorite toy ever he was my childhood hero miss those days thanks for the memories. Evel you helped make my growing up so much fun. lconic is the only word that works.
Fantastic video Tony. You did the toy's and the man himself justice!!
Great vid. That box art is brilliant, remember it well 👍🏻
Wow. I had that stunt cycle when I was a kid!!!! Good to see it again
I had a ball watching my 4 year old's reaction to your episode.
Teliving my childhood through my son's eyes awesome💖🇺🇸
Evel was a hero to alot of kids. His personality was abrasive. But when talk US pop culture icons. Evel Knevial is there. Epitome of the motorcycle love affair culture that still rides today. Evel is a legend
To Evel and Elvis...you both came along at a time when we needed you guys the most! Hurry back fellas!
Wow! I have to really commend you here. I had a LOT of these you mentioned and it bought back a lot of memories.
Your research, details, and narration are really spot on.
Thank you for this impeccable video you’ve posted. Will be watching for your next live chat.
I had the snake river canyon rocket cycle, and it operated about as well as the real thing did! My brother had the regular stunt cycle, and I was always jealous of him!
Great video! I had some of those toys as a kid, man what fun! I had the bike, the stunt van, and the chopper. Great memories, thanks!!
I had the Stunt Cycle... it was great toy! Off the stairs, down a hill, across a parking lot.... got about three years of use and abuse out of it. Later, I got the Van, second hand from a relative.
Toys from a bygone age when kids were encouraged to pelt them over ramps into concrete floors, rather than keep them pristine on cardbacks.
Another amazing video!
Excellent review .
Playing Mantis revived the EK line in 1998, along with another iconic action figure, Action Jackson, originally produced by Mego in 1971.
I grew up in the 70's but never got this series. My neighbor and best friend did so we played together. But I was always envious because they were - and still are - one of the best toys of all time.
I owned the Chopper as a kid. I remember the Toy Department at a Department Store had set up a table and ramp for Evel Knievel. It ended up shooting off the table and going 10 feet along the floor, the parents watching bought the toy.
I had the turbo cycle as a kid. Rubber made sense. Hitting doors,walls who knows what else?! Lol! Really enjoyed this! Keep it up!
Request a MEGO Micronauts toy line?! The name of the play set escapes me? Make your own ships! I had 50 time traveller figures. Lol! Repto Anrtron a the red dude with the big brain! My all time fave was my Baron Karza action figure. Great magnets!
Really enjoyed this Tony. Took me back to being 6 ,making ramps out of my dads soul records and watching Knievel live at Wembley.
I actually saw Evel do an in-store appearance at Toys R Us in the mid 70s!!
This video captures the love I have for the Stunt Cycle, which, I received nearly 49 years ago to the day. I consider this the greatest toy ever made but I am biased. Certainly, the best video on the subject. Thank you so much for putting it together.
Great video! So nostalgic. We grew up in the greatest time!
I had the stunt cycle as a kid.....LOVED IT!!!
I grew up watching EK on TV...loved the toys too. In the 80s, I think they re-used the EK molds to make the Team America toys. Not 100% on that, but so similar.
Absolutely brilliant video. I used to pretend I was Evel Knievel riding around on my push bike in the 70s that I made up of old bike parts I’d found. My parents bought me the stratocycle one Christmas and I was the happiest child around. One day I’ll get one again. Thanks so much for bringing back some long forgotten great memories. Danny
I just got mine and ordered one for my grandson. My wife could not understand my excitement, this brought me so much joy as a kid, man if i had all of my old ones. I had the rv, rocket i bet they are buried in a yard somewhere lol
Being someone who grew up in the 1970s and was a friend of Evel Knievel's later in his life this was a very good look into the history of his toys. Even though not everything you said was accurate it was still very insightful for those who don't know the legend of the EK Ideal toy line. Greatest toys ever made.
Great video! My EK Stunt Cycle lost a fight with a passing car the day I got it. The plastic bike shell was destroyed but the bike still worked somewhat. I miss it to this day.
I had the strato cycle!!!! None of my friends even knew it existed but I had seen the movie with my parents. It was my favorite! I even stopped using it in the energizer..I did not want to scratch the eagle face...or worse break it!!! Got my kids the 2007 release. Superb video! Appreciate all the info on Evel's life!!! Appreciate all the work that went into this!!
Made my day Tony! Thank you!
They need to start remaking all the old toys from the past. Also remake the original boxes as well. Long live Evel Knievel & the 70's!
Super video and nice job filming this! I was born in 1966 and remember watching these toy commercials thinking..."How many takes did it...take!...to film the motorcycle tracking so straight." It was not that it could not happen but unusual. The interesting thing is that the stunt cycles were really an interactive stunt toy. I am guessing that not many survive today. I did not have one but a kid about a block away did and I remember seeing it in action. Overall, these toys were pretty interesting. Some toys in the 70s were really well thought out and led to the awesome toys of the 80s. Thanks for this walk down memory lane!
Simply, one of the greatest toys ever.
Evelyn Knievel was my biggest Hero, and Idle ever! I did grow up to jump motorcycles, and I've broken a bunch of bones too! Evel, you are so missed, and will never be forgotten.
Thank you Tony for the memories and detailed information about one of my favorite toys of my childhood!
I was on needles and pins as a kid watching watching his televised Snake River Canyon jump. I had the motorcycle, Scramble van, and later had the rocket which looked nothing the Snake River rocket. These were some of the best toys of my childhood!
My favorite toy as a kid was that stunt cycle. When you reach your fastest crank end by rotating backward once to super launch the cycle.
The Evel Kenievel toys were without question some of the finest and most fun toys ever made. They just worked. Took a helluva lot of play and were solid. Even to this day you can't lay hands on the cycle and base and not want to spin it up. (Oh and a tip for Analog Toys from an old 70's kid. The trick for getting the vehicles to launch from the base without having to push them with a finger is to backspin the crank just a hair. As you are winding it jut reverse by a fraction of an inch and off it goes)
Brought back lots of memories
As a kid in the UK at the time I must say I never had one and I knew very few kids who ever did. A very recognisable toy all the same, mainly due to the intensive advertising. There was a persistent myth about these bikes that the adverts hugely exaggerated the speed such that they came off at more of a dribble than a rush and not fast enough to actually jump anything. I can see now that they were indeed pretty quick but the existence of the myth is kind of proof that many kids had no direct experience of the toy. Other Ideal toys such as Buckaroo! , Kerplunk, Shaker Maker and Mousetrap (the only one which you mention) were much more common here, plus my favourite Ideal game (and forerunner of Robowars ;-), Battling Tops.
I had one. Loved it, cranked it to my heart's delight. Why run him into the wall, rather make a day of it and do it proper: ramps, curbs, driveways basically emulating what's in the tv commercial. Well, anyway, none the less TY for the trip back to my childhood. Ahhhhh.
Excellent video! Thanks man I was a little little kid when this came out and I remember having the motorcycle set.
Got one for my 8th birthday in 1973. There were three of us on my street that had them and my pal Bill had the van and sky cycle. They were tough reliable and fun. And yes we also jumped our 20" bikes over everything we could think of. Even each other!
That rrrRRRrrrrRRReVVVVV!!!! You are playing with my earliest memories!🙂 I was born in 1970, and had pretty much everything you just reviewed.
This and Weebles (wobble but they don't fall down) are the first ad campaigns I can remember ever seeing.
And this toy is truly King.
That stunt bike was an awesome toy, I never had one but my best friend did, many hours playing with that..... And then trying to recreate the jumps on my Raleigh Tomahawk!.... How I lived past 10 years old I'll never know! Lol 😂
I remember making ramps out of my moms dust pans. Loved it
Mine died launching it from the top of the stairs! great video Tony :)
Wonderful memories of getting the Evel Knievel stunt cycle on Christmas morning... 👍
Loved the noise the stunt chopper made when you wound it up, and the stunts it did on a dirt track.
I'm a 80's child but I love the the trip back in time . I would of loved to play with this toy , or would play with it now
Awesome video
Had a few of the toys, but a friend got almost all of them, and I would play with him.
Excellent video, some good history too.
You are living the dream, sir! I had some of these and remember them fondly, especially the Scramble Van.
Awesome job brother, I remember watching the grand canyon jump on TV with my family. I was in 1st grade I believe.
Man that was great - Much Thanx! The Evel Knievel toys were hands down the coolest of the 70's. Crank It Up!!!
I remember living in the projects I had the stunt cycle with the crank. It was everything to me. .my cousins had one too. Brings back memories.
Evel was a legend of his time and I remember seeing Viva Knievel in the cinema the year it came out. Still got some boxed EK goodies including the Stratocycle. Great episode 👍🏻
The stunt cycle was definitely one my favorite action toys while growing up in the 70s. I bought my son one 25 years later. And 20 years after that, they are still available. How cool is that!
I had both the 7" bendable figure, and the Stunt Cycle when I was a kid back in the 70's! I even had the "BMX" Bike with all the flashy Evel Knievel additions that made the bike look so cool!
I still have my Strato Cycle. No idea it was rare. Nice video enjoyed it.
I am a 1970 baby and grew up watching Knievel every chance I got. Me and all the other boys in the neighborhood buitl all manner of unsafe and nearly deadly ramps with whatever we could come up with and tried to be just like Evil Knievel back then. I even had one of those newer AMF styled bikes in the mid-late 70's and even had my big Evil Knievel bicycle flag attached to the back wheel flying high throughout the neighborhood.
I had almost all these toys Tony. The van was my favourite, I used to love jumping the van back in the 80s! They must of been hand me downs, god knows how I got these.
Wonderful content as ever bro
Well done! Excellent look into a great toy line!
When you launched the motorcycle over the Scramble Van I about lost my mind! Such a cool toy set.
Clearly one of the greatest toys ever made. I own 2 reproduction sets. Also 2 8inch figures and 2 twelve inch figures in white and blue outfits. I also own 2 jackets , gloves , and a motorcycle helmet. My walls have various pictures , signs , and posters of Evel. After all we had a real life action hero not just comic book heroes.
There actually was a reissue in the late 90's of the Stunt Cycle, I recieved one brand new in the box on Christmas of 97/98 I believe. As a kid from the 90s who grew up with the shift to Video Games taking over as the big toy for kids, the Stunt Cycle was my favorite toy ever! It really held up to alot of abuse. I was fortunate enough to have my father's Scramble Van complete in the box, so I would use it for my jumps. I'm glad they are making these again today, but I hear they break very easily unlike the originals.
I have to mention, whoever that narrator for the commercials is, he's the same guy to do the Sunbow G.I. Joe cartoon narrations and Hasbro Joe toys and a million other commercials. What a legend and I don't even know his name! But his voice is a great part of my childhood.
Great video my man......I am a child of the 70's and still Idolise Evel to this day !
Had a few of these in the 70s, but the cycle and choppa really struggled indoors on the shaggy carpet, so outside into the backyard we went; a much more viable arena!
My favorite toy growing up!